oh yes, it’s a day of drunken Irish celebration. i love it. Erin go bragh! we pre-celebrated this weekend by attending the official St. Patrick’s day parade in San Francisco. i got up at 6:30 am to endure some massive cooking. my Irish breakfast included: Irish soda bread, Dubliner Irish cheddar and mushroom eggs, fried tomatoes, corned beef n’ cabbage, and bacon. topping that off with some Irish coffees, Guinness, Magners, and Murphy’s, we had ourselves quite a festive breakfast. if only i had time and didn’t have to work today, i would have done it all over again! :) check out the highlights:

cooking in my kitchen!

that's a whole lotta bacon.

since i was using my stovetop and had a massive amount of eggs to make, i tossed some shredded chedder and green onions on top and baked them for 15 minutes.

after simmering the seasoned corned beef in water for almost 3 hours (50 minutes per pound), i added the red potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. i love how the veggies soak up all of the delicious flavor of the beef!

i am a busy lady. between working a full time job, going to school two nights a week, working out, occasionally picking up shifts at Whole Foods Market, and sustaining a normal social life, i sometimes have a hard time cramming amazing dinners into my schedule. however, with a little creativity and determination, one can accomplish anything.

i thought i would share my latest creation: garlic thyme steak (or salmon, which i made myself since i don’t eat beef or pork). this is such an easy marinade that you can prepare the night before or in the morning of. i also paired this with a couple baked potatoes & some steamed lemon butter broccoli, which take little effort. here are the recipes:

garlic thyme steak

garlic thyme salmon

Garlic Thyme Steak/Salmon

ingredients:

2 6-8 ounce round steaks or salmon

1/4 cup minced garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 teaspoons of fresh thyme

using a baking dish, combine the garlic, olive oil, and thyme. throw your steak or salmon into the mixture and marinate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours). make sure to flip the steak/salmon a few times to ensure thorough marinating on both sides.

to cook, place steak/salmon in a skillet or on the grill. cook each side for 5-7 minutes until golden brown.

REMEMBER: baked potatoes take a long time to cook in the oven. scrub and prick your potatoes with a fork several times, then wrap them in foil. preheating your oven to 425 degrees, bake your potatoes for 45-50 minutes. during the last 15minutes of baking your potatoes, throw your washed and cut broccoli into a pan with a steam until your potatoes are done. during the last 10 minutes of baking your potatoes, begin cooking your marinate steak/salmon.

***SHORT ON TIME? microwave your potatoes! after scrubbing & pricking your potatoes with a fork several times, place on a microwavable plate and cook for 5 minutes in your microwave. turn over, then cook for another 5 minutes. when the potatoes is soft, remove from the microwave, slice open, and add your favorite ingredients (butter, sour cream, cheese, chopped bacon, green onions, etc!)

when your baked potatoes are done, remove from oven. place your steamed broccoli in a large bowl and add a tablespoon of butter, a squeezed lemon, and a little salt & pepper to taste. prepare your baked potatoes as desired, add some steamed lemon broccoli, and place your cooked steak or salmon (top off with the remaining marinade from your baking dish) on your plate. ENJOY!!!

I love cake. Ok so I dont love eating cake so much as I love looking at cakes. Im obsessed with watching all the different cake competitions on Food Network, Ace of Cakes and wedding cake specials on WE (yes I hate to admit but I occasionally watch WE just for the cakes). I just love watching the amazing artistic creations made out of sugar and flour. Anywho my good friend Jenn tweeted today about the most amazing cake in the history of amazing cakes. Behold…

Its a girl! Its Darth Vader! Its adorable! Im just going to go out on a limb and say this is the best baby shower cake ever. I mean look at the details! Theres ruffles and bows and bottles…and Lord Vader. And lets not overlook the amazing 90s-rific airbrushing with the planet scape in the background. Bravo…bravo. When I decide to squeeze another life form out of my nether regions I will celebrate the occasion with this cake made by

Mmmm pixels and sugar, a match made in heaven! If youve been hesitant to try a Snack or Die recipe because you feel your confectionery skills are not up to par, this is surely a good beginners project. Hell all you need to do is buy a vat of pre-made sugar cookie dough, a heart sapped cookie cutter and some M&Ms and youre halfway done! I love that the only problem Jocelyn ran into was getting the right color M&Ms, however her solution was quite clever…and delicious…

“What I ended up doing is pouring a bag of M&Ms into a small dish and ate all the non-red M&Ms. Problem solved.”

As usual she includes step by step instructions as well as images. I think its incredibly clever to use M&Ms as the lights on the Big Daddy helmet. The only thing I think I would change about this recipe is using licorice bands to create the mask. I know that they are the right choice to create the texture and form, but Im just not a fan of black licorice. I would probably try to make some thin chocolate bands and even though they wouldnt be as sturdy as the licorice, they would be a lot more tasty.

Now I just need to figure out how to make a Gingerbread Little Sister to go along with my Big Daddy Cupcakes…

creatively, seanalyn thought of a great ‘OBAMANATION’ appetizer. with tomato, fresh mozzarella, and a blackberry mixed with fresh basil and balsamic reduction, this appetizer was completely festive and flavorful!

seanalyn frying her salmon cakes!

seanalyn’s Salmon Cakes with a Spicy Aoli sauce sure hit the spot after the light ‘red, white, and blue’ appetizer!

Salmon Cake, with a squeeze of lemon and topping of the aoli sauce.

i made the entree, which consisted of a Spicy 4 Bean Turkey Chili:

simmering to perfection!

i

kt’s Spicy 4 Bean Turkey Chili:

Ingredients:

1/2 small onion, diced (i used a food processor)

1 orange pepper, diced (or food processor)

several cloves of garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 pound of ground turkey

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons hot sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 tomatoes, chopped (i used the food processor)

2 15 oz cans tomato sauce

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can vegetarian baked beans

1 can pinto beans, rinsed

On medium heat, using a large soup pot, saute onion, orange pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add ground turkey or beef; brown. In a small bowl, combine spices and hot sauce together into a mixture, and then add to ground turkey mixture. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans. Simmer on Medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with grated Cheddar cheese, onions, and sour cream.

to quench our American thirst!

to wash that all down, seanalyn found these incredible ‘white trash’ and ‘red neck’ wines from Bakersfield, California, while visiting her parents. not only are they completely humerous, but they were quite tasty as well.

while enjoying the feast, we watched Independence Day on blu-ray! it was a great, AMERICAN day!

due to the fact that Obama is from Illinois, Chicago style hot dogs are a must! broil, boil, or steam some all beef hot dogs. make sure to keep all of the toppings accessible so your guests can add whatever their hearts desire. add some waffle fries and you’ve got a perfect lunch!

not a big hot dog fan? you can substitue the all beef hot dog for a tofurky dog or turkey dog!

On medium heat, using a large soup pot, saute onion, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add ground turkey or beef; brown.In a small bowl, combine spices together into a mixture, and then add to ground turkey or beef mixture. Add red wine vinegar. Add tomatoes and let simmer until tomatoes cook down. Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.Serve over white or brown rice. Garnish with grated Cheddar cheese, onions and sour cream.

i found this delicious dessert, titled ‘Michelle Obama’s Apple Cobbler.‘ i am pretty sure that Michelle Obama had nothing to do with this recipe, but it’s definitely a Midwestern treat! what i love about this recipe is that it goes great with some vanilla ice cream, it’s moist, and perfectly sweet!

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight so the spice goes all the way through the apples.

Crust:

3 sheets refrigerated pie crust

1 stick of butter

Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Butter and flour the bottom of a large baking dish. Roll out three pie crusts real thin — as thin as possible. Layer the bottom of the pan with 1-1/2 of the pie crusts and prick a few holes in it. Pour the apples with the liquid into the pie pan. Dot 3/4 of a stick of butter around the apples. Use the final 1-1/2 pie crusts to cover the apple mixture entirely (let the pie crust overlap the pan).

Pinch the edges of the dough around the sides of the pan so the mixture is completely covered.

Melt final 1/4 stick of butter and brush all over top of crust.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake at 300 for up to 3 hours — that’s what makes the crust flaky, like Barack likes it. Put the cobbler in the oven and go for a walk, go to the store, or do whatever you have to do around the house. Start looking at the cobbler after two and a half hours so it doesn’t burn.